Reduction of in-hospital cardiac arrest with sequential deployment of rapid response team and medical emergency team to the emergency department and acute care wards.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine if sequential deployment of a nurse-led Rapid Response Team (RRT) and an intensivist-led Medical Emergency Team (MET) for critically ill patients in the Emergency Department (ED) and acute care wards improved hospital-wide cardiac arrest rates. METHODS: In this single-center, retrospective observational cohort study, we compared the cardiac arrest rates per 1000 patient-days during two time periods. Our hospital instituted a nurse-led RRT in 2012 and added an intensivist-led MET in 2014. We compared the cardiac arrest rates during the nurse-led RRT period and the combined RRT-MET period. With the sequential approach, nurse-led RRT evaluated and managed rapid response calls in acute care wards and if required escalated care and co-managed with an intensivist-led MET. We specifically compared the rates of pulseless electrical activity (PEA) in the two periods. We also looked at the cardiac arrest rates in the ED as RRT-MET co-managed patients with the ED team. RESULTS: Hospital-wide cardiac arrests decreased from 2.2 events per 1000 patient-days in the nurse-led RRT period to 0.8 events per 1000 patient-days in the combined RRT and MET period (p-value = 0.001). Hospital-wide PEA arrests and shockable rhythms both decreased significantly. PEA rhythms significantly decreased in acute care wards and the ED. CONCLUSION: Implementing an intensivist-led MET-RRT significantly decreased the overall cardiac arrest rate relative to the rate under a nurse-led RRT model. Additional MET capabilities and early initiation of advanced, time-sensitive therapies likely had the most impact.

Exercise Physiologists: Key to Providing Early Mobilization in the Intensive Care Unit.

BACKGROUND: Patient immobility and a lack of physical activity in the intensive care unit results in a myriad of negative patient and hospital outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To report research findings related to the use of exercise physiologists in promoting and providing aggressive and progressive early mobilization within the intensive care unit. METHODS: This observational cohort study used the researcher-generated 12-point Activity Mobilization Evaluation Scale and delirium prevention bundle in 3 medical-surgical intensive care units to track patients' progress with mobilization. RESULTS: On average, most of the 216 patients in the study population realized a 1.6-point change (P < .001) in activity level with intervention by an exercise physiologist. Almost all of the study population (97%) maintained or increased the level of activity after receiving a minimum of 1 session with an exercise physiologist (mean, 3.5 sessions per day) during the 3-month study period. CONCLUSION: The introduction of exercise physiologists in the intensive care units proved to be a novel, safe, and effective strategy that maintained or increased the activity level of 97% of study patients.